Making their school proud

NETBALL: Coaches, umpires and players alike praised the performance of the St Mary's Catholic College netball team at the Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Netball Championships.

The team exceeded expectations to take on St Mary's Cairns in the final and be defeated by one goal.

Coach of the team, Rebecca Weier couldn't be prouder of the way the girls carried themselves on and off the court.

"We expected them to do extremely well and get into quarters and into the finals but to get into the grand final was expectational,” she said.

"The one thing that stood out is their sportsmanship and way they conducted themselves as a team.

"It was beautiful to watch them intercept and bring the ball down the court.”

It is the third year Weier has coached the St May's team at the competition and she was overwhelmed by the praise the team received from opposing coaches about the way the girls played and the progress they have made over the years.

"It was one of those weeks you sit back and go, 'I was very proud of that',” Weier said.

Each girl has committed to the team and given it their all at training all year with two training sessions a week as well as competing in Kingaroy netball's Monday night competition and taking out A-grade.

The team is made up of girls from Year 7 through to Year 12 and the diverse ages of the girls is a positive sign of things to come.

On the sideline watching the team during the competition was former Queensland Firebirds coach Vicki Wilson.

"That was a big achievement, having someone of that calibre to watch,” Weier said.

The team will continue training ahead of competing in the Vicki Wilson Cup in August where the team is aiming to take out their local district.

"We will be maintaining that sportsmanship and strength, making sure our combinations are strong and that we have good communication on court,” Weier said.